Unit 501 (South Park)
Colorado Hunting Guide — Elk, Mule Deer, Moose
Unit 501 lies in Park and Jefferson counties and covers about 501 square miles. Ground runs from 6,206 to 12,413 feet. CPW bounds it by U.S. 285 and U.S. 24 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 31%. Federal land covers about 93% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 501
Unit 501 lies in Park and Jefferson counties and covers about 501 square miles. Ground runs from 6,206 to 12,413 feet. CPW bounds it by U.S. 285 and U.S. 24 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 31%. Federal land covers about 93% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Unit 501
What CPW publishes for unit 501 is a boundary, not a elk map. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Park and Jefferson counties. It runs to about 501 square miles.
The lines of the unit: U.S. 285, U.S. 24 and Park CR See "Land Closures
CPW has unit 501 bounded on the north by U.S. 285 and North Fork of South Platte River on the east by South Platte River; on the south by U.S. 24; on the west by Park CR See "Land Closures & Use Restrictions," page 68. That is a legal description, not a habitat map. Those features are what you will check against the map all week, and the divides among them are the ones that matter.
High ground inside the line: Bison Mountain, Kenosha Mountains and Tarryall Mountains
Named high points inside the unit include Bison Mountain at 12,413 feet, Kenosha Mountains at 12,395 feet, Tarryall Mountains at 12,385 feet, South Twin Cone Peak at 12,311 feet and Platte River Mountains at 12,301 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk want timber to bed in and open ground to feed on, within a short walk of each other.
Holding ground: Kenosha Pass, Wallace Gulch and Hankins Pass
Below them sit Kenosha Pass at 9,994 feet, Wallace Gulch at 9,989 feet, Hankins Pass at 9,986 feet, Willow Gulch at 9,925 feet and East Lost Park at 9,687 feet. Those are the basins, parks and bottoms this unit has, and they are what you glass into from above. Work out which of them you can see from one position before you pick a camp.
Public ground to start from: McArthur Gulch STL and Michigan Creek SWA
CPW lists McArthur Gulch STL and Michigan Creek SWA inside this unit as ground open to public hunting. Each property sets its own restrictions, and the agency's page for it is where they are written down. Federal land covers about 93% of the unit on top of those.
Water: Robbins Spring, Bed Spring and Mud Spring
The water inside the unit line comes to 393 mapped stream reaches, 5 lakes and 54 stock tanks. Named sources include Robbins Spring, Bed Spring and Mud Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
The herd this unit belongs to: E-18
CPW does not manage elk unit by unit. It manages them as data analysis unit E-18, and unit 501 is one piece of it. The rest of E-18 is unit 50 and unit 500. Read a neighbour in the same herd before you read the state average — the herd, not the unit line, is what the agency is steering.
Reading the land status
Our ownership read for this unit is approximate — it comes out as National Forest 60%, Private / Other 32% and State Trust 8%, so treat it as a starting point and check a current land-status layer before you plan a route. A grid sample of the unit reads 6,833 to 11,442 feet, and named ground inside the line runs 6,206 to 12,413 feet — take 6,206 to 12,413 as the spread, because the sample is a grid and misses both ends. With 6,207 feet between the two ends, that is a lot of vertical to cover, and it means the season you draw decides which half of the unit you hunt.
Unit 501 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 6,833–11,442 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 9,275 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 501.2 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 32%
Roughly 68% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 54 tanks
- 393 stream segments
- 5 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Bison Mountain (12,413 ft), Kenosha Mountains (12,395 ft), South Twin Cone Peak (12,311 ft), McCurdy Mountain (12,122 ft)
Holding ground: Craig Park (11,048 ft), High Park (10,865 ft), Lake Park (10,842 ft), McArthur Gulch STL, Michigan Creek SWA
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in Unit 501
Elk Success Rates
CPW's 2023 harvest estimates put elk success in unit 501 at 29% — 103 animals taken by 356 hunters. The hunter count is large enough for the percentage to mean something and small enough that a good or bad year still moves it.
- Archery — 22% success, 12 taken by 56 hunters
- Muzzleloader — 24% success, 12 taken by 48 hunters
- Rifle — 31% success, 79 taken by 251 hunters
These are the agency's own printed figures for this unit, not a modelled estimate and not a state average. They describe one season, so check CPW's current harvest estimates before you read a trend into them.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery — 1st Season either sex (resident) | 47 | 373 | 12.6% | 5 |
| Archery — 1st Season either sex (nonresident) | 15 | 185 | 8.1% | 10 |
| Rifle — 1st Season cow only (resident) | 6 | 150 | 4.0% | 3 |
| Rifle — 1st Season cow only (nonresident) | 0 | 5 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season cow only (resident) | 31 | 342 | 9.1% | 1 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season cow only (nonresident) | 4 | 28 | 14.3% | 1 |
| Rifle — 5th Season cow only (resident) | 21 | 60 | 35.0% | — |
| Rifle — 5th Season cow only (nonresident) | 2 | 6 | 33.3% | — |
| Rifle — 1st Season bull only (resident) | 16 | 153 | 10.5% | 7 |
| Rifle — 1st Season bull only (nonresident) | 5 | 68 | 7.4% | 16 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season bull only (resident) | 26 | 309 | 8.4% | 3 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season bull only (nonresident) | 9 | 90 | 10.0% | 8 |
| Rifle — 3rd Season cow only (resident) | 40 | 279 | 14.3% | — |
| Rifle — 3rd Season cow only (nonresident) | 1 | 23 | 4.3% | 1 |
| Rifle — 4th Season cow only (resident) | 13 | 121 | 10.7% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season cow only (nonresident) | 2 | 6 | 33.3% | — |
| Rifle — 3rd Season bull only (resident) | 17 | 213 | 8.0% | 3 |
| Rifle — 3rd Season bull only (nonresident) | 6 | 53 | 11.3% | 6 |
| Rifle — 4th Season bull only (resident) | 14 | 128 | 10.9% | 2 |
| Rifle — 4th Season bull only (nonresident) | 4 | 31 | 12.9% | 8 |
| Muzzleloader — 1st Season cow only (resident) | 33 | 128 | 25.8% | — |
| Muzzleloader — 1st Season cow only (nonresident) | 3 | 6 | 50.0% | — |
| Muzzleloader — 1st Season bull only (resident) | 19 | 103 | 18.4% | 6 |
| Muzzleloader — 1st Season bull only (nonresident) | 6 | 31 | 19.4% | 9 |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineCPW's 2026 draw recap for elk in unit 501, by hunt code, with resident and nonresident kept apart because the two draw from different licence pools:
- EE501O1A — Archery, 1st Season, Either Sex, resident: 373 applicants for 47 licences, 12.6% drawn, 5 preference points needed
- EF501O2R — Rifle, 2nd Season, Cow Only, resident: 342 applicants for 31 licences, 9.1% drawn, 1 preference point needed
- EM501O2R — Rifle, 2nd Season, Bull Only, resident: 309 applicants for 26 licences, 8.4% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- EF501O3R — Rifle, 3rd Season, Cow Only, resident: 279 applicants for 40 licences, 14.3% drawn, no preference points needed
Colorado runs a pure preference-point draw, so the point figure above is the requirement the agency published for that code in that year, not a forecast for the next one. There are 20 further code-and-residency combinations in the recap for this unit. Figures checked against CPW's own statistics pages on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colorado unit 501?
What is the elk success rate in unit 501?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 501 hunt?
What is the mule deer success rate in unit 501?
What is the Shiras moose success rate in unit 501?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-23.
- Colorado Big Game Hunting Brochure — Game Management Unit (GMU) Descriptions (pp. 79-80-81-82) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: GMU boundary description, Counties the unit lies in, Data analysis unit (DAU) the unit belongs to · accessed 2026-10-22
- 2023 Colorado Elk Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for elk in unit 501, Hunters and harvest by weapon and season · accessed 2026-10-22
- CPW CPWAdminData feature service — GMU and sheep/goat unit boundaries — Colorado Parks and Wildlife GIS Unit · supports: Mapped extent of the unit, Which named ground falls inside the unit line · accessed 2026-10-22
- 2023 Colorado Deer Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for mule deer in unit 501, Hunters and harvest by weapon and season · accessed 2026-10-22
- 2023 Colorado Moose Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for Shiras moose in unit 501, Hunters and harvest by weapon and season · accessed 2026-10-22